A web application is a computer software application that is accessed over a network, such as the Internet or an intranet. A web application also includes a computer software application that is hosted in a web browser-controlled environment (such as a Java® applet), or coded in a web browser-supported language (such as JavaScript), combined with a web browser-rendered markup language (such as Hypertext Markup Language (“HTML”)). A web application is generally reliant upon a web browser that renders the web application executable.
In general, a web application can be tested to verify that the web application correctly displays in a web browser before the web application is put into production. Generally, one or more individuals, such as quality assurance engineers, develop test scripts that can be used to test the web application. A test script can include steps such as loading the web application on a web browser so that the web application displays data, such as a graph, verifying that the image of the graph is correctly displayed, using a cursor control to “click” on a bar in the displayed graph, and verifying whether the resulting image of the graph is correctly displayed. A test script can be a manual test script, where the steps of the test script can be initiated by a human user of the web application. Alternatively, a test script can be an automatic test script, where the steps of the test script can be automated through the use of a separate computer software application that can simulate a human user interacting with the web application. Such testing can be useful in identifying and correcting as many errors as possible in source code of the web application, before the web application is put into production.